Effects of different levels of lespedeza and supplementation with monensin, coconut oil, or soybean oil on ruminal methane emission by mature Boer goat wethers after different lengths of feeding

Figures & data

Table 1. Chemical composition of supplement and forage.

	Supplement^a				Pelleted forage
Item	CON	ION	CCO	SBO	Alfalfa	Lespedeza
OM (% DM)	97.4	97.4	97.5	97.5	87.4	93.9
CP (% DM)	10.0	10.0	9.4	9.2	21.4	13.3
NDF (% DM)	12.7	12.7	11.4	11.4	45.1	52.4
ADF (% DM)	4.9	5.0	4.3	4.4	37.3	43.0
ADL (% DM)	1.0	1.0	0.9	0.8	13.4	17.2
Fat (% DM)	5.6	5.4	14.2	14.4	2.4	1.4
Gross energy (MJ/kg DM)	18.8	18.8	20.8	20.8	17.3	18.8
Condensed tannins (% DM)	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	6.4

^aCON = Control, used for the Control treatment and treatments with feeding of lespedeza; ION = ionophore; CCO = coconut oil; SBO = soybean oil.

Table 2. Chemical composition of diets consumed during the entire study and wk 5 of periods when digestibility was determined.

	Diet during entire study^1							Diet during digestibility weeks
Item	CON	MSL	HSL	ION	CCO	SBO	SEM	CON	MSL	HSL	ION	CCO	SBO	SEM
OM (% DM)	88.8^a	91.6^c	94.5^a	88.9^a	89.2^b	89.2^b	0.07	89.3^a	91.8^c	94.5^d	89.4^a	89.9^b	89.6^ab	0.14
CP (% DM)	19.9^d	16.4^b	12.8^a	19.7^d	19.3^c	19.3^c	0.08	19.2^d	16.1^b	12.7^a	19.2^d	18.5^c	18.8^cd	0.16
NDF (% DM)	40.6^b	43.8^c	46.3^d	40.2^b	39.0^a	39.1^a	0.23	38.8^b	42.5^c	45.5^d	38.7^b	36.8^a	37.7^ab	0.55
ADF (% DM)	32.8^b	35.3^c	37.1^d	32.4^b	31.3^a	31.5^a	0.23	31.0^b	34.1^c	36.4^d	31.0^b	29.2^a	30.1^ab	0.53
ADL (% DM)	11.7^b	13.3^c	14.8^d	11.5^b	11.1^a	11.2^a	0.09	11.0^b	12.8^c	14.4^d	10.9^b	10.3^a	10.6^ab	0.21
Fat (% DM)	2.9^c	2.5^b	2.1^a	1.8^c	4.5^d	4.5^d	0.04	3.0^c	2.6^ab	2.2^a	2.9^bc	5.3^d	5.0^d	0.13
GE (MJ/kg DM)	17.49^a	18.15^c	18.80^d	17.51^a	17.93^b	17.91^b	0.013	17.58^a	18.17^c	18.81^d	17.58^a	18.16^bc	18.05^b	0.039

¹CON = Control; MSL = moderate level of lespedeza; HSL = high level of lespedeza; ION = ionophore; CCO = coconut oil; SBO = soybean oil.

^a,b,c,dMeans in a row without a common superscript letter differ (P < 0.05).

Table 3. BW and ADG.

	Effect P value		Treatment^1
Item	Treatment	Covariate	CON	MSL	HSL	ION	CCO	SBO	SEM
BW (kg)
Initial	0.964		54.0	56.2	50.5	55.6	53.6	53.3	4.57
Final	0.321		61.2	62.4	53.5	63.6	58.7	59.2	4.68
ADG (g)	0.005	0.837	52^bc	44^bc	21^a	57^c	37^ab	42^bc	6.1

¹CON = Control; MSL = moderate level of lespedeza; HSL = high level of lespedeza; ION = ionophore; CCO = coconut oil; SBO = soybean oil.

^a,b,cMeans in a row without a common superscript letter differ (P < 0.05).

Table 4. Feed intake during the entire trial and digested fractions based on digestibility determined in wk 5 of periods.

	Effect P values^1					Treatment^2							Period
Item	Trt	Prd	Trt*Prd	Cov	Prd	CON	MSL	HSL	ION	CCO	SBO	SEM	1	2	3	4	SEM
DM intake (g/day)
Concentrate	0.017	0.108	0.704	<0.001		336^ab	314^a	306^a	363^abc	395^c	382^bc	20.2	323	366	364	344	14.7
Forage	0.022	<0.001	0.011	<0.001	1	1602	1668	1695	1662	1731	1470	125.2
					2	2334	1983	1779	2060	1733	1818
					3	2348	2172	1630	2140	1834	1902
					4	2165	2127	1713	2213	1803	1967
Total	0.051	<0.001	0.030	<0.001	1	1865	1936	1999	2066	2092	1807	141.5
					2	2696	2307	2124	2406	2145	2226
					3	2729	2507	1928	2484	2249	2315
					4	2502	2456	1990	2571	2194	2338
Digested (g/day)	0.108	<0.001	0.271	<0.001		1719	1548	1415	1658	1501	1435	85.8	1363^a	1608^b	1564^b	1649^b	52.1
Concentrate (% total)	<0.001	0.098	0.615	0.691		13.8^a	13.8^a	15.4^a	15.1^a	18.2^b	17.7^b	0.68	16.2	16.1	15.6	14.8	0.46
DM intake
Total (% BW)	0.655	<0.001	0.119	0.001		3.86	3.75	3.52	3.69	3.64	3.54	0.157	3.37^a	3.80^b	3.69^b	3.79^b	0.092
Concentrate (% BW)	0.025	0.314	0.668	0.029		0.53^a	0.52^a	0.54^ab	0.56^abc	0.66^c	0.62^bc	0.033	0.55	0.61	0.57	0.56	0.023
Forage (% BW)	0.283	<0.001	0.078	0.002		3.33	3.23	2.98	3.12	2.98	2.92	0.142	2.82^a	3.20^b	3.12^b	3.24^b	0.081
OM intake (g/day)
Total	0.165	<0.001	0.035	<0.001	1	1656	1774	1884	1846	1865	1613	127.4
					2	2392	2114	2003	2137	1917	1987
					3	2422	2297	1818	2205	2008	2065
					4	2220	2249	1875	2282	1956	2081
Digested	0.163	<0.001	0.305	<0.001		1577	1460	1351	1526	1385	1329	76.1	1280^a	1514^b	1445^b	1512^b	46.5
N intake (g/day)
Total	<0.001	<0.001	0.011	<0.001	1	59.2	50.5	41.7	63.6	64.8	55.4	4.26
					2	85.9	60.1	44.2	76.3	65.6	68.4
					3	86.4	65.5	40.2	79.0	69.1	71.3
					4	79.7	64.2	41.7	81.7	67.7	72.9
Digested	<0.001	<0.001	0.082	<0.001		60.2^e	42.3^b	28.8^a	58.0^de	50.9^cd	49.3^bc	2.59	41.6^a	48.8^b	50.3^b	52.3^b	1.56
NDF intake (g/day)
Total	0.048	<0.001	0.017	<0.001	1	756	848	922	800	821	701	60.1
					2	1098	1009	972	972	828	866
					3	1107	1102	887	1008	874	905
					4	1019	1079	928	1042	857	929
Digested	0.061	<0.001	0.444	0.008		529	508	502	501	410	395	36.8	412^a	482^b	452^ab	551^c	23.6
EE intake (g/day)
Total	<0.001	<0.001	0.095	<0.001		69.8^c	55.8^b	43.6^a	66.6^c	98.4^d	97.5^d	3.30	63.3^a	74.7^b	76.1^b	73.7^b	1.83
Digested	<0.001	<0.001	0.549	<0.001		46.2^c	34.6^ab	30.2^a	41.7^bc	76.7^d	68.6^d	3.89	41.7^a	53.9^b	52.1^b	51.0^b	2.04
GE (MJ/day)
Total	0.291	<0.001	0.036	<0.001	1	32.63	35.15	37.50	36.30	37.44	32.41	2.52
					2	47.15	41.88	39.86	42.09	38.54	39.91
					3	47.73	45.51	36.19	43.43	40.34	41.46
					4	43.76	44.57	37.34	44.96	39.30	41.72
Digested	0.363	<0.001	0.366	<0.001		29.84	27.87	26.22	28.80	26.97	25.53	1.518	24.59	29.06	27.42	29.08	0.931

¹Trt = treatment; Prd = period; Cov = covariate (initial BW).

²CON = Control; MSL = moderate level of lespedeza; HSL = high level of lespedeza; ION = ionophore; CCO = coconut oil; SBO = soybean oil.

^a,b,c,d,eMain effect means in a row without a common superscript letter differ (P < 0.05).

Table 5. Feed intake and digestion in wk 5 of periods.

	Effect P values^1				Treatment^2							Period
Item	Trt	Prd	Trt*Prd	Cov	CON	MSL	HSL	ION	CCO	SBO	SEM	1	2	3	4	SEM
DM
Intake (g/day)	0.803	<0.001	0.690	0.001	1817	1966	1915	1821	1731	1775	129.3	1662^a	1743^a	1808^a	2140^b	71.6
Digestion (%)	0.675	0.008	0.540	0.467	70.5	67.6	69.5	69.5	68.6	66.2	1.95	69.6^b	69.4^b	65.5^a	70.0^b	1.17
Digested (g/day)	0.797	<0.00`	0.617	0.006	1277	1326	1350	1273	1199	1176	100.2	1150^a	1209^a	1198^a	1510^b	58.2
OM
Intake (g/day)	0.495	<0.001	0.696	0.001	1622	1804	1808	1625	1553	1590	117.2	1509^a	1588^a	1639^a	1932^b	64.3
Digestion (%)	0.618	<0.001	0.650	0.592	72.8	69.5	70.3	72.0	71.1	68.8	1.80	72.3^b	72.4^b	67.2^a	71.2^b	1.09
Digested (g/day)	0.611	<0.001	0.681	0.003	1177	1251	1289	1174	1110	1093	90.2	1084^a	1147^a	1112^a	1387^b	52.2
N
Intake (g/day)	0.041	<0.001	0.597	0.004	56.1^b	50.8^b	39.5^a	56.5^b	51.6^b	53.4^b	3.78	46.1^a	47.5^a	50.6^a	61.0^b	2.16
Digestion (%)	0.001	0.013	0.453	0.727	77.5^c	70.7^ab	67.0^a	77.0^c	75.7^bc	73.6^bc	1.76	74.0^ab	72.6^a	71.9^a	75.8^b	1.04
Digested (g/day)	0.005	<0.001	0.460	0.008	43.4^b	35.8^b	27.1^a	43.8^b	39.5^b	39.4^b	2.97	34.2^a	34.5^a	37.1^a	46.9^b	1.81
NDF
Intake (g/day)	0.057	<0.001	0.769	0.004	708	840	878	711	645	673	60.3	670^a	690^a	725^a	886^b	32.9
Digestion (%)	0.441	0.001	0.450	0.208	53.7	50.6	53.0	52.3	48.1	46.6	2.87	51.3^bc	50.1^ab	45.6^a	55.9^c	1.87
Digested (g/day)	0.086	<0.001	0.553	0.095	380	425	480	383	322	316	42.3	341^a	351^a	341^a	504^b	25.3
Ether extract
Intake (g/day)	<0.001	<0.001	0.467	<0.001	55.0^b	50.0^ab	42.2^a	52.6^ab	88.7^c	87.7^c	3.73	57.2^a	62.4^b	62.6^b	68.6^c	2.00
Digestion (%)	0.026	0.008	0.189	0.876	66.2^a	62.8^a	68.5^ab	62.3^a	76.3^b	70.1^ab	3.02	64.3^a	71.5^b	67.1^a	67.9^ab	1.75
Digested (g/day)	<0.001	<0.001	0.652	0.001	36.3^a	31.0^a	29.3^a	32.8^a	69.0^b	61.9^b	3.79	37.6^a	45.2^bc	43.2^b	47.6^c	2.03
Gross energy
Intake (MJ/day)	0.549	<0.001	0.703	0.001	31.92	35.71	35.98	31.97	31.34	32.01	2.326	30.01^a	31.60^a	32.61^a	38.41^b	1.277
Digestion (%)	0.730	<0.001	0.641	0.587	69.9	67.0	68.5	69.0	68.8	65.8	1.99	69.9^b	69.8^b	64.1^a	68.9^b	1.19
Digested (MJ/day)	0.632	<0.001	0.690	0.004	22.26	23.87	25.03	22.14	21.71	21.09	1.762	20.84^a	22.03^a	21.14^a	26.72^b	1.030
Urinary (MJ/day)	<0.001	0.112	0.319	0.002	0.97^bc	0.94^b	0.51^a	0.98^bc	0.87^b	1.17^c	0.081	0.97	0.93	0.89	0.84	0.047
Methane (MJ/day)
MJ/day	<0.001	<0.001	0.326	0.033	3.06^c	2.31^b	2.12^ab	2.21^ab	1.96^a	2.04^ab	0.108	2.41^b	2.37^b	2.30^b	2.05^a	0.068
% GE intake	<0.001	<0.001	0.501	0.003	10.3^b	6.8^a	6.3^a	7.2a	6.5^a	6.5^a	0.35	8.3^c	7.7^bc	7.4^b	5.6^a	0.28
% DE intake	<0.001	<0.001	0.468	0.036	14.8^b	10.2^a	9.3^a	10.6^a	9.8^a	10.1^a	0.62	11.9^b	11.2^b	11.6^b	8.4^a	0.51
Metabolizable
MJ/day	0.439	<0.001	0.693	0.007	18.23	20.62	22.41	18.95	18.88	17.87	1.707	17.46^a	18.74^a	17.95^a	23.83^b	1.001
kJ/kg BW^0.75	0.146	0.001	0.667	0.401	820	955	1069	870	893	831	69.2	889^a	896^a	806^a	1035^b	43.3

¹Trt = treatment; Prd = period; Cov = covariate (initial BW).

²CON = Control; MSL = moderate level of lespedeza; HSL = high level of lespedeza; ION = ionophore; CCO = coconut oil; SBO = soybean oil.

^a,b,cMain effect means in a row without a common superscript letter differ (P < 0.05).

Table 6. Ruminal fluid measures and serum urea N concentration.

	Effect P values^1			Treatment^2							Period
Item	Trt	Prd	Trt*Prd	CON	MSL	HSL	ION	CCO	SBO	SEM	1	2	3	4	SEM
Ruminal pH	0.864			6.13	6.25	6.52	6.02	6.27	6.22	0.273
Ruminal VFA
mmol/l
Acetate	0.221			62.2	62.3	42.0	62.9	53.0	65.4	7.27
Propionate	0.428			9.9	8.8	6.4	11.0	9.2	11.0	1.69
Isobutyrate	0.016			0.55^bc	0.47^ab	0.33^a	0.50^ab	0.44^ab	0.72^c	0.071
Butyrate	0.191			8.7	8.2	6.2	9.0	6.5	9.5	1.08
Isovalerate	0.227			0.68	0.60	0.45	0.62	0.59	0.96	0.142
Valerate	0.023			1.23^b	0.91^ab	0.47^a	1.27^a	1.11^b	1.44^b	0.196
Total	0.200			83.2	81.3	55.9	85.2	70.8	89.0	9.79
Molar percentage
Acetate	0.046			74.8^ab	76.8^b	75.1^ab	73.9^a	74.9^ab	73.2^ab	0.78
Propionate	0.628			11.7	10.7	11.3	12.4	12.5	12.0	0.82
Isobutyrate	0.685			0.68	0.58	0.74	0.62	0.76	0.99	0.186
Butyrate	0.697			10.5	10.0	10.9	10.8	9.2	10.9	0.86
Isovalerate	0.755			0.88	0.74	1.08	0.80	1.09	1.39	0.331
Valerate	0.001			1.42^bc	1.10^ab	0.87^a	1.49^c	1.52^c	1.62^c	0.116
Acetate:propionate	0.440			6.55	7.32	6.70	6.21	6.20	6.22	0.441
Ruminal ammonia N (mg/dl)	0.047			17.5^b	19.4^b	9.8^a	19.6^b	17.2^b	18.4^b	2.27
Serum urea N (mg/dl)	<0.001	<0.001	0.302	24.0^cd	20.6^bc	13.6^a	24.1^cd	18.7^b	24.8^d	1.27	17.6^a	17.4^a	23.6^b	25.3^b	0.86

¹Trt = treatment; Prd = period.

²CON = Control; MSL = moderate level of lespedeza; HSL = high level of lespedeza; ION = ionophore; CCO = coconut oil; SBO = soybean oil.

^a,b,c,dMain effect means in a row without a common superscript letter differ (P < 0.05).

Table 7. Summary of effects of condensed tannins (CT) in lespedeza on ruminal methane emission by goats in previous experiments and of treatments in the present one.

					Ruminal methane emission relative to the Control treatment (%)
					In vivo^a
Study	Treatment^b	% dietary CT	Adaptation	Control treatment	Absolute	GEI	DEI	In vitro
Animut et al. (2008a)	33% KL + 67% GR	5.0	15 days	100% GR	67.2	64.8	70.8	57.1
	67% KL + 33% GR	10.1	15 days	100% GR	52.7	48.0	61.1	50.3
	100% KL	15.1	15 days	100% GR	41.6	36.7	52.1	43.5
Animut et al. (2008b)	KL	15.1	34 days	PEG	50.5	59.7	60.7	54.4
	KL + QB	19.8	34 days	PEG	41.0	52.9	57.5	50.0
	SL	14.0	34 days	PEG	48.6	56.4	49.3	44.8
	50% KL + 50% SL	14.6	34 days	PEG	46.4	54.3	53.3	50.8
Puchala et al. (2012a)^c	SL, fresh	19.9	20 days	AL + GR mean	73.4	54.9	70.9	61.7
	SL, hay	15.3	20 days	AL + GR mean	74.8	55.8	65.6	58.6
	SL, fresh	19.9	20 days	PEG	78.5	75.7	79.4	68.6
	SL, hay	15.3	20 days	PEG	72.7	81.3	88.9	66.7
Puchala et al. (2012b)	SL daily	15.3	24 days	Mean of days 5–7^d	42.0	40.9	49.0
	SL every 2 days	7.8	24 days	Mean of days 5–7^d	49.3	45.7	47.6
	SL every 4 days	4.0	24 days	Mean of days 5–7^d	70.0	64.0	65.3
Present experiment	MSL	2.7	Mean of 4, 9, 14, and 19 wk	AL + supplement	75.5	66.0	68.9
	HSL	5.5	Mean of 4, 9, 14, and 19 wk	AL + supplement	69.3	61.2	62.8
	ION	0.0	Mean of 4, 9, 14, and 19 wk	AL + supplement	72.2	69.9	71.6
	CCO	0.0	Mean of 4, 9, 14, and 19 wk	AL + supplement	64.1	63.1	66.2
	SBO	0.0	Mean of 4, 9, 14, and 19 wk	AL + supplement	66.7	63.1	68.2

^aGEI = gross energy intake; DEI = digestible energy intake.

^bKL = Kobe lespedeza; GR = grass; PEG = polyethylene glycol; QB = quebracho tannin product; SL = Sericea lespedeza; AL = alfalfa; ²CON = Control; MSL = moderate level of lespedeza; HSL = high level of lespedeza; ION = ionophore; CCO = coconut oil; SBO = soybean oil.

^cTwo experiments, one with fresh forage and one with hay.

^dMean of values at 5, 6, and 7 days after feeding of SL for a treatment with SL fed every eighth day, at which time CH₄ peaked and, therefore, was not considered to have been influenced by CT.

Animut G, Puchala R, Goetsch AL, Patra AK, Sahlu T, Varel VH, Wells J. 2008a. Methane emission by goats consuming diets with different levels of condensed tannins from lespedeza. Anim Feed Sci Technol. 144:212–227. doi: 10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2007.10.014

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